HOLLYWOOD - Top Story
Oscar producer Gil Cates said U2 and Paul Simon, both of whom were nominated for best original song, will likely perform at the March 23 ceremony. Cates added he is uncertain if Eminem, whose song "Lose Yourself" from 8 Mile also received a nom, will perform. "Eminem we're not sure about in terms of the schedule. We haven't heard," Cates told The Associated Press. Other songs nominated in the category are "Burn It Blue" from Frida and "I Move On" from Chicago. Cates could not say if Renee Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones would perform "I Move On" at the Oscars. "The reason we really can't say is, if I say that we're going to ask someone and then they don't appear, a lot of things happen. Firstly, you know that we were turned down. Secondly, the next person that we ask knows that they're a second choice. So the only intelligent answer to that question is, 'What a good idea that is,'" Cates said.
Celebs
After 2001's banner year for African Americans at the Oscars, including wins by Halle Berry and Denzel Washington, 2002 is looking a lot less diverse. This year's Oscar race produced only one black nominee, Queen Latifah, who received a nod for her supporting role in Chicago. Latifah, whose real name is Dana Owens, told the AP she hopes Hollywood becomes more accessible to people of color. "The more diversity in the body who does the voting, the more you'll see other--not just African-Americans--but Asians and American Indians and Hispanic people, Middle Eastern or whatever it may be," she said. Movies
Charlie Sheen will star in the third installment of the Scary Movie franchise, which is set for a fourth-quarter release, Reuters reports. This latest development is part of a two-picture deal with the movie's distributor, Dimension Films, and its Miramax parent. Sheen is no stranger to slapstick comedy: He played Topper Harley in the lowbrow Hot Shots! and Hot Shots!: Part Deux, and appeared in the 1993 parody National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon I. Scary Movie 3 will be directed by Airplane! and Naked Gun helmer David Zucker.Rapper DMX, whose real name is Earl Simmons, will produce and star in the thriller Never Die Alone under his apprentice Bloodline Films banner. According to Variety, DMX will play a gangster whose life unfolds in flashback as a reporter probes events that led to his killing. The film is based on the 1974 book by cult writer Donald Goines, who penned 16 pulp novels between his release from prison in 1970 and his fatal shooting four years later. David Arquette and Michael Ealy will co-star on the project, which starts shooting Thursday in Los Angeles.Tenacious D, the self-proclaimed "greatest band on Earth," is headed to the big screen. According to The Hollywood Reporter, actor-comedian-rockers Jack Black and Kyle Gass--the duo that make up "the D"--will star in the film for New Line Cinema. The film's story line is being kept under wraps, but is said to be a "creation" story revolving around how the duo became the greatest band on Earth. Music video director Liam Lynch will helm the project, penned by Black, Gass and Lynch. Tube
Fans of Fox's hit reality show Joe Millionaire are upset over last Monday's overhyped, episode, which promised much more than it delivered, People.com reports. Viewers were led to believe that Evan Marriott would make his choice between Zora and Sarah, and producers teased the final decision throughout the two-hour program. Instead, audiences were presented with a recap of the season. Scott Grogin, a spokesman for Fox, told the AP that viewers should have known better. "The payoff was always going to be on Feb. 17," Grogin said. "It's possible we were a little over the top with our promos, and we're sorry if people felt misled."
Music
Kelly Osbourne has pulled out of performing at one of Britain's NME Awards, where she was due to sing her latest hit "Shut Up." A spokeswoman told Reuters Thursday the singer's showbiz parents, Sharon and Ozzy, were concerned about a possible terror attack on London while she is there. "Sharon and Ozzy are concerned about their children's safety and they don't want them flying about while the world is on high alert," she said. NME.com added that British promoters were expecting cancellations from other U.S.-based stars, including Pink, Avril Lavigne and Justin Timberlake. Russell Crowe's band, 30 Odd Foot of Grunts, has a new album coming out in April, and one of the tracks features a duet with Chrissie Hynde. According to People.com, Crowe and Hynde met in London last year and she has invited his band to tour the U.S. with her band, the Pretenders, later this month. Their single, "Never Be Alone Again," will be featured on the Grunts' CD Other Ways of Speaking, the band's follow-up album to their less-than-successful Bastard Life of Clarity, which reportedly only sold 156 copies in its first week of release in England.